Red headed goose
| Red headed goose | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Red headed goose ( Chloephaga rubidiceps ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Chloephaga rubidiceps | ||||||||||||
| Sclater , 1861 |
_RWD.jpg)
The red-headed goose ( Chloephaga rubidiceps ) belongs to the family of ducks (Anatidae). The red-headed goose is the rarest type of geese among the mirror geese. In the Falkland Islands, for some time premiums were paid for shot red-headed geese, similar to the Magellangans , because they were seen as a competitor for pet food. In the meantime, however, the red-headed goose is protected on the Falkland Islands and with the 14,000 to 27,000 breeding pairs that live there, it is also relatively secure. On the South American continent, on the other hand, the population numbers are falling significantly. A major reason for the negative population trends is the spread of Argentine Kamp fox , the one in the 1950s in Tierra del Fuego exposed to the local rabbit plague curb.
The first scientific description was made by Philip Lutley Sclater in 1860 on the basis of a specimen collected on the Falkland Islands.
Appearance
The red headed goose is the smallest of the mirror geese. The height is between 45 and 50 centimeters. The plumage colors of males and females are the same, but males tend to be slightly larger than females. Red-headed geese weigh about two kilograms.
The belly is cinnamon-colored, the small wing covers white, the middle ones gray and the large ones shiny green. The legs are yellow-orange and there is a white ring around the eyes. Young birds are largely the same as adults. Their small plumage, however, is a little more impure in color than the old age dress. The belly is more clay-yellow than cinnamon-colored. The large wing covers are still dull dark gray. The leg color is also a little paler than that of the adult birds. Downy young cannot be distinguished from those of the gray-headed goose. Red-headed geese probably moult twice a year.
Similar to the Magellan goose or the gray-headed goose, there is a clear difference in voice between the sexes. Females call darkly, while the gander's voice is a bright whisper.
Red-headed geese can be confused with the females of the magellan geese, which, however, have a distinctly reddish-brown breast. Red-headed geese also have smaller bills and a flatter head. The gray-headed goose, which is closely related to the red-headed goose, has a greyish head and a reddish chest, which is not drawn across.
distribution
The breeding areas are on the moist grassy plains (lowlands and meadows) on Tierra del Fuego ( Tierra del Fuego ) and south of the Strait of Magellan , in Chile and on the Falkland Islands . In winter, the red-headed goose moves to the lowlands of southern Argentina .
Way of life
Red-headed geese are residents of wide and open grasslands. They are generally considered to be a species that prefers coastal grasslands. Inventories in the Falkland Islands have not been able to confirm this. In the breeding bird surveys there, red-headed geese tended to be in inland areas near freshwater. As can be observed with other mirror geese, the gander are very aggressive during the breeding season and defend their large breeding area vigorously. In addition to geese, they also drive away other duck birds. The nest is built in the tall grass. The clutch in October consists of 4 to 11 eggs. The female breeds alone, the chicks, on the other hand, are looked after by both parent birds. If the young geese are threatened, the male tries to mislead the attacker by shouting loudly and simulating an injury, while the female leads the young geese to safety. The young can fledge between January and February. The proximity to water is only sought during the chick tour.
Outside the breeding season, red-headed geese are sociable birds and are occasionally found in large flocks. They are regularly associated with gray-headed geese. Occasionally there is also a socialization with Magellan geese.
Duration
In the Falkland Islands, the most important distribution area of this species, the red-headed goose population is stable despite competition from cows and sheep. It was not always so. For a time in the Falkland Islands, premiums similar to those for Magellangans were paid for taking out red-headed geese. It wasn't until 1985 that the red-headed goose was no longer considered a pest on the Falkland Islands that could be shot all year round. Today between 14,000 and 27,000 red-headed geese breed in the Falkland Islands. The worldwide population was estimated at 35,000 to 60,000 breeding pairs in 1997.
In Tierra del Fuego the Argentine battle scarf was introduced to fight the rabbit plague. The red headed goose is endangered by the fox, by people looking for the eggs and by grazing cows who destroy the nests on the ground. The once very large populations in Argentina have declined drastically and only a small number of geese are breeding there. The population in Tierro del Fuego is now estimated at less than 500 individuals and is still falling. In 2001 Wetlands International was commissioned to develop a concept for the conservation of the species in Chile and Argentina.
supporting documents
literature
- Janet Kear (Ed.): Ducks, Geese and Swans. Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 0-19-854645-9 .
- Hartmut Kolbe; Die Entenvögel der Welt , Ulmer Verlag 1999, ISBN 3-8001-7442-1
- Hadoram Shirihai: A Complete Guide to Antarctic Wildlife - The Birds and Marine Mammals of the Antarctic Continent and Southern Ocean , Alula Press, Degerby 2002, ISBN 951-98947-0-5
- Robin and Anne Woods: Atlas of Breeding Birds of the Falkland Islands , Anthony Nelson, Shorpshire 1997, ISBN 0-904614-60-3
Web links
- Chloephaga rubidiceps in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed January 31 of 2009.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings for Chloephaga rubidiceps in the Internet Bird Collection